On Tuesday around 2 am my contractions were about 10 minutes apart. I slept but on and off. I spent the day on the couch, eating junk food because I knew it was my last day to enjoy being fat and lazy. My contractions were mild most of the day, 10-12 minutes apart, sometimes 7-9.
Around 4:30 the contractions got VERY painful but were still relatively far apart, allowing me enough time to recover in between. The dogs were great and laid by me the whole time. Carter (the puffball) would come sit right by me during all the contractions I had and let me grab on to his neck (not hurting him, just bracing myself).
DH got home and brought Subway around 7. We watched TV. Immediately after eating my contractions started to get far far far stronger and 7 minutes apart. They stayed that way until about 11, when I figured I should get up and shower and get ready. It took me about an hour to shower, since I had to stop and breathe through the contractions the whole time. I even did my hair and put on makeup (I have no clue why). I got dressed, then told DH he needed to shower. I called the OB and he talked me through some contractions on the phone. At that point they were about 4-5 minutes apart. He advised we go in. We got to skip admitting which saved about an hour since we were scheduled to be induced in about 7 hours anyways.
At this point I could barely breathe - the contractions were close together, and hard. The nurse checked me and I was at 4 - I was very proud of myself for getting that far on my own without even coming in or calling all day Tuesday! She asked about the epidural. At that point I was torn, because I had done so well for so long on my own. She said she'd call the anathesologist and he could talk to me about it. About a half an hour of intense contractions later, he arrived and I decided to get one. She checked me before hand and I was at 6 centimters - labor was FLYING by!
The epidural was amazing. I can't say enough about it. I would not have had the energy I needed later on to push if I hadn't gotten the epidural, after 30 hours of being awake, I needed it. The one complaint was that it went up too high and my BP dropped a bit, but that was easily fixed by putting me sitting straight up in bed.
DH and I both took a nap from about 6-8. The night nurse (amazing lady!) came in and introduced us to the day shift nurse (double amazing!) and informed me they were going to start me on pitocin because my contractions had stalled. They checked me and I was at 8 centimeters.
They turned the epidural off - I had NO CLUE they did this. I thought I got it the whole time, even through the pushing, but my OB doesn't allow that as he wants everyone to be able to feel pushing in its entirety; they believe its how to keep the rate of emergency c-sections low. At the time I was pretty PO'd but I get it now.
I labored for about another hour until 10:00. We did a few practice pushes and the nurse determined I needed to wait a little longer. I seriously felt like I was going to poop my pants (well gown) the pressure was so bad. ALL I wanted to do was push push push.
At 10:30 I started pushing. It was SUCH a relief. I would push 3 times during each contraction. It hurt, but not in a bad way. I did this for about half an hour. The worst part was feeling the blood and amniotic fluid go out everywhere. Yuck! My left hip cramped up from Hunter's position and Joe/the nurse took turns holding it and massaging.
At 11:30 they called the OB in. This is where it gets rough. I pushed and pushed and pushed and Hunter's head would pop out, then go back in. OUCH. Finally, the last 6 or 7 contractions, he stayed put and it was just a matter of getting him out. OMG THAT HURT SO BAD. My language was so awful - as I said before, I told my favorite OB to fvck off at one point. Everyone was so great though - everytime I said I just couldn't do it they told me to keep going, that I was so close. It seriously felt like my vag was being ripped into a million pieces. DH kept calling me "champ" and was apparently crying (my eyes were closed). They kept asking if I wanted to see his head and I just had no energy left to look. I just wanted to quit at that point, but you can't quit when there's literally a head coming out of you. The OB kept telling me to "use the pain" to get him out. On the last contraction, after 4 big pushes his head came out. I pushed some more and his shoulders came out and they pulled him all the way out! 12:05 pm, he was 8 lbs 14 oz, 20.5 inches long and completely bald! (He has peach fuzz but no hair at all).
Absolutely perfect. He BF like a champ all day yesterday and last night, but today he's sooo tired and not eating at all. (So of course I am getting a little concerned already)!
Recovery is...nasty. I gushed blood all day yesterday. I ruined 3 pairs of hospital socks. I have some cramps that suck but am taking a Motrin/Tylenol combo. For some reason, my tailbone got bruised/cracked during labor (probably from his positioning) so it hurts to get out of bed. It feels great to move around or sit up, but when I go to move, it hurts something awful. I have a second degree tear which isn't bothering me half as much as this tailbone thing. The OB that saw me today said it might be something that is permanent (eek!) unfortunately. It feels a bit better today so here's hoping its just a bruise.
So thats my birth story. Its so worth it in the end, but honestly the most pain I've ever had to endure!
